The Blender’s Bargain – Chapter 10

Garrick

I can’t believe Archie is holding my hand right now. Does this mean she likes me? Has feelings for me?

Don’t get ahead of yourself, Garrick. She’s just scared and looking for comfort. Still, the touch of her hand in mine warms my body and lightens my head. I probably shouldn’t be so thrilled about holding her hand when everything’s falling apart, right?

I sweep my thumb over her smooth skin, hoping the small gesture provides some reassurance. She glances at me, and I give her a smile I hope looks more confident than I feel. Because I’m not feeling very confident. No, no, nope. My emotions are spiraling out of control, so I take a slow breath to steady myself.

I can’t lose focus. Not now.

The taxi hits another pothole, and I grip Archie’s hand tighter to keep us both steady.

“You seem worried. Are you worried?” Archie asks. She squeezes my hand.

“Ah, no. It’ll take a lot more than this to shake me,” I say, brushing aside the crushing dread I feel.

“I’m worried,” the driver says, watching a crowd run past us in the opposite direction. “You all are my last fare of the night.”

Outside, the city streets are fractured and chaotic, like the very earth is breaking apart. Just what have we gotten ourselves into? And how are we supposed to fix it? I’m not some magical hero. I’m just a teacher, like Archie said. But maybe that will be enough? Teachers fix problems all the time, though on a decidedly smaller scale.

I glance at the bags holding our unusual mentors. Ysroth and Arvid better have some real wisdom to share, or we’re screwed.

The taxi screeches to a halt. We’ve arrived at the barricades around Lumina Heights. I give Archie’s hand one last squeeze before I let go.

The neighborhood of Lumina Heights is usually hopping with people, but the events of the evening have turned the area into a ghost town. The taxi’s tires crunch over fractured pavement as we pull up to a set of barricades. An unnatural glow permeates the dusk, casting shadows across the faces of bystanders. Tingles crawl up the back of my head.

I have a bad feeling about this.

“End of the line,” the driver announces. “No way am I getting closer to… whatever that is.”

I don’t blame him. I want to stop here and forget any of this ever happened. But we have to keep going.

I pay the man while Archie gathers our bags.

As the taxi speeds away, she turns to me. “So this is fun.”

I let out a hollow laugh. “Oh yeah. Best way to start summer break ever.”

Our banter falls flat, tension crackling between us. Gone is the comforting handhold from earlier. Now we’re back to colleagues, friends at best. Romance seems far off when we’re facing down supernatural forces.

Hoisting the bags higher, we approach the barrier, the appliances within clanking together.

“Remember, caution is key,” Arvid says. “Proceed with care.”

“Right,” I reply. “Careful is my middle name.”

“I thought it was Eugene?” Archie teases.

Despite everything, her barb startles a laugh from me. Only she knows that embarrassing secret.

“Enough nonsense, you two!” Ysroth grumbles. “Focus on the task ahead.”

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the blender this morning,” Archie mutters.

I bite back another inappropriate laugh. Trust her to find humor even now.

I think I’m in love with her.

We pick our way over the barricade and into the streets of Lumina Heights. There’s no one around. The streets deserted, still and silent as the grave. A purple glow strengthens ahead, flickering in the warm evening air.

Each step fills me with more dread. I want nothing more than to turn and flee with Archie. People love to comment on my height and make assumptions I’m not afraid of anything, being so tall and broad. But I’m just as much of a human being as anyone else.

I glance at Archie and her chin is tilted up, her eyes alert. If she can be brave, so can I.

And the appliances seem confident we’re on the right path, so I swallow my fear and continue onward.

We round a corner and there it is — a swirling vortex torn into the very fabric of reality. Dark magic cracks and spits from within, roaring, rumbling. The rational part of my mind screams we should run.

Archie inhales sharply. “Oh my… Holy shit. What do we do now?”

“Let me get a closer look,” Ysroth commands.

I exchange a worried glance with Archie, but we have little choice.

“Bring me closer, but not too close. You don’t want to make contact with it. Just in case.”

Heart pounding, I pull the blender from the bag and approach the vortex. My feet feel like I’m dragging them through mud. My arms are outstretched, trying to protect myself from an attack that seems bound to happen. I work out, and my ex often called my arms and legs ‘trees,’ (she thought it was witty), but I cannot stop my shaking hands. Shards of reality glow on the vortex’s edges, dark and menacing. It’s a fucking portal into another world, right in the middle of the poshest neighborhood in the city.

Ysroth hums in consideration as he analyzes the magical forces at work. I hope he has a solution because all I feel is cold, primal fear.

“Take me back, good sir,” Ysroth calls out over the din.

I snap him to my chest and return to Archie.

“Well?” she asks. “What’s the verdict?”

Ysroth sighs. “It’s worse than I feared. Dark magic from a forbidden age has been unleashed. I’m sure I’ve seen it before, but I don’t…” His voice trails off. “Regardless, we must act swiftly to contain the damage.”

I rake a hand through my hair. I had a feeling he was going to say that.

Archie’s eyes are drawn to the magic pouring out of the hole in the ground. Her teeth catch her lower lip. “Just tell us what to do.”

“Help!” someone calls down a side street.

Archie and I lean to the side to see what’s happening.

“Go,” Arvid says from the bag. “There’s something over there.”

People are running everywhere as we approach a side street, again glowing purple. The light intensifies, casting shifting shadows. Up ahead, a crowd stares at something, their frightened murmurs filling the air. Archie and I exchange uneasy glances and press forward.

We reach the edge of the crowd, and I stop short. Being tall sometimes has its advantages when I’m not cursing at the height of the shower fixtures in my own bathroom. Another massive rift has opened in the street, easily thirty feet across, and it’s spewing the same magical energy into the night sky as the one we just left. I’ve read plenty of fantasy novels, but nothing could have prepared me for this.

This can’t be real.

The mystical forces radiating from the anomaly vibrate my skin, my flesh, my bones. This is true magic — raw, dangerous, and beyond my comprehension. How can Archie and I hope to contain something so powerful and primordial?

“What about this one?” I ask Ysroth under my breath.

The blender hums as the magician studies the rift. “Hmm, yes, this magic bears the mark of my fallen brethren,” he mutters. “Dark forces not seen for an age have been unleashed.”

I swallow hard. That does not sound promising. But before I can inquire further, a thunderous crack splits the air, and magic flares along the edges of the fissure. A pressure builds, weighing down on me, pulling me down like gravity out of control. Archie’s hands reach for her ears, and she begins to kneel.

“It’s going to blow!” someone screams. “Run!”

Chaos erupts as the crowd stampedes in all directions. Despite my arms weighing a ton each, I grab Archie’s arm and pull her to the side into a doorway. We make it three steps before a shockwave lifts me clear off my feet, slamming me against the door behind us. My vision swims, and my ears ring.

What the hell was that?

Groaning, I roll over to check on Archie. She’s sprawled on the ground, still and silent for three seconds, before she stirs. I crawl to her side.

“Are you okay?” I rasp, helping her sit up. She winces, touching her head.

“I don’t know. What happened?” She pulls her hand away, and her fingers are bloody.

“I’m not sure. You’re bleeding.” I lean in and look at the scrape. It’s not too bad. I take her hand and put it back on her head. “Here. Put pressure on it.”

I wince as I sit back. My ribs ache something fierce.

Her hand comes to my arm. “Are you hurt?”

She’s worried about me. I brush a strand of hair away from her face. “I’ll be fine.” She stares into my eyes for a moment. That pull between us is even stronger. I lean in, drawn by her wide eyes, her concern.

“A little help here! I’m quite stuck!”

Control yourself, Garrick.

We smile sadly at each other for a moment. The blender must have tumbled when I dropped it. I retrieve the grumbling appliance, and Archie grabs Arvid’s toaster.

His calm voice drifts out. “It seems the magic here is even less stable than we realized.”

“Ya think?” Archie mutters.

I peer at the rift in the street again. The blast seems to have made it even larger. Jagged streaks of violet energy lash from its depths. This mystic vortex is beyond anything we can handle.

I turn to Archie. “We need to get out of here. Now. Before that thing blows again. Are you okay to move?”

She bites her lip but nods, looking around. In the distance, sirens wail. Help will arrive soon, though I doubt the authorities are any more prepared than we are.

I stand and offer Archie my hand. She takes it, gripping my fingers. “Come on, let’s go.”

Her hand in mine. Good. I didn’t screw up.

Archie and I pull back from the swirling vortex, its angry energy pulsing against my skin. We retreat to a safer distance, the appliances clanking together in our bags.

“Well, that was… something.” Archie brushes a hand through her windswept hair. She looks at her fingers and puts pressure back on the scalp wound.

“Ysroth, we need guidance.”

Ysroth hums as he gathers his thoughts. “Dark days of old have returned to haunt this realm. We must uncover the ancient secrets that sealed away these forces before.”

Archie frowns. “Secrets? What kind of secrets?”

“In my time, an order of sorcerers devoted themselves to suppressing primordial magic,” Ysroth explains. “Their knowledge was documented in manuscripts, passed down through generations.”

I snap my fingers. “The library at the university. We were going there next. Maybe those manuscripts are there?”

“An excellent notion,” Arvid proclaims. “I think you’re right.”

Good. We just might uncover something to aid us.

Archie smiles, squeezing my arm. “Do you…?” We’ve often talked about my university access over lunches at school.

I nod. “I do.” I look around to get my bearings. “Where are we again?”

She laughs as she points down the hill. “The university is that way, professor.”

Hey, I never said I had a great sense of direction. I chuckle despite the circumstances.

“Right, no time to waste, then.”

Scooping up the bags, we hurry out of Lumina Heights.

Can’t say I’m sorry to put it behind us.